Residents want CPZ extension

BIRCHWOOD Road, West Byfleet, could shortly be part of West Byfleet Controlled Parking Zone (CPZ) following a petition from residents asking for it to be included in the scheme. Councillors will decide tonight whether a feasibility study into the idea will be carried out by the borough’s parking services, and consequently whether the scheme will go ahead. The original West Byfleet CPZ was introduced in September 2000 but residents of Birchwood Road were not in support of the scheme at that time and chose not to be included in the CPZ. The CPZ currently includes the central retail and trading area where parking controls operate Monday to Saturday from 8.30am to 6pm. The adjoining residential roads form an outer zone where parking controls operate from Monday to Friday from 11am to 3pm. Residents of Birchwood Road now believe the road is being used for parking by commuters and staff of local businesses and as a result have trouble trying to find a space to park outside their houses. Woking Borough Council’s parking services team believes that if the CPZ was implemented in Birchwood Road, it would remove commuters’ vehicles from the road during the hours of control. Councillor Mike Popham (Con, West Byfleet) has been liaising with residents of Birchwood Road and helped them create a letter for every household, canvassing opinions on the traffic problems. He said: “Our earlier survey of ‘residents by residents’ established a clear majority in favour of a Birchwood Road CPZ scheme. “This was needed for the council to have confidence that work on the scheme would not be in vain. Residents had, in the past, expressed a desire not to have a CPZ in the road. “That done, this resolve is to initiate actions necessary for council to consider implementing the scheme. It would appear that we are on schedule to prevent all available parking in that road being taken up most of the time by people not resident in the village.”